Theme: NURSERY RHYMES (37A. Mother Goose offerings, or in a different sense, this puzzle's title) - the first word of each rhyming phrase can be found in a plant nursery.
17A. Longing for a fronded plant?: FERN YEARN. Frond is the leaf of the fern.
21A. Zinfandel, but not sake?: VINE WINE. Sake is Japanese rice wine.
23A. Oxygen emanating from a lawn?: GRASS GAS. The answer made me laugh.
55A. Steep, e.g.?: HERB VERB. You steep the "herbal tea", hence a verb for herb I presume.
57A. Like areas above the timberline?: TREE FREE. Trees do not grow above the timberline.
61A. Group devoted to small, woody plants?: SHRUB CLUB. What's the difference between shrub and bush?
Heavy themage. Total 63 theme squares. Very Dan Naddor-ish, isn't it? Esp with the first and last pair of stacked theme answers.
I got the unifying entry NURSERY RHYMES rather quickly, but did not understand the theme until I was completely done. Had thought the theme answers were all arbitrary. Then the precious AHA (6D: Cry of realization) hit me. Very clever tie-in. Loved Dan's subtle metapuzzle gimmick. Or "You've got to dig deep to find the theme...", in his own words.
The clues are a bit trickier than our normal Wednesday, no?
Across:
1. Bridges of "The Big Lebowski": JEFF. He's "The Dude" in the movie. A bowler.
5. River projects: DAMS. I like how it crosses DREDGE (5D. Channel maintenance machine).
9. Ritz cracker alternative: ZESTA. The Keebler brand. Two Zs in the grid. And only Q away from a pangram.
14. Swedish furniture giant: IKEA. So easy to get lost inside IKEA store.
15. Ostrich cousin: RHEA
19. Connection: NEXUS
20. H.S. dropout's test: GED (General Equivalency Diploma)
27. Spews: EGESTS. Thought of ERUPTS.
28. Bench press target, briefly: PEC
29. Côte d'Azur view: MER. French for "sea". Nice is at Côte d'Azur (the French Riviera). We also have "water" EAU (52A. __ Claire, Wisconsin).
30. Scratch or dent: MAR
31. Ed.'s pile: MSS (Manuscripts). Used to stump me.
32. Rural skyline cylinder: SILO. For forage.
34. Rock collection specimens: AGATES. Raw agates do not look pretty at all.
42. Cloverleaf element: ON-RAMP. Highway interchange "Cloverleaf".
43. Follower of once?: UPON. "Once upon a time ...".
45. Some TVs: GES
48. Scrap for Spot: ORT. Spot is a common dog name. Alliteration.
49. Anaheim team, on scoreboards: LAA. Silly name: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
53. Pair of blows: ONE-TWO. No idea. Boxing term?
59. Govt. auditing gp.: GAO (General Accounting Office)
60. Fruit soda brand: FANTA. No Coca-Cola brand in our house. Loyal Pepsi consumers.
66. "I Kissed __": Katy Perry hit: A GIRL. Not familiar with the song or the singer.
67. Diggs of "Private Practice": TAYE. Loved him in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back".
68. Golfer Isao: AOKI. Just remember the AO combination in both his give name and surname.
69. Kidney-related: RENAL
71. Joan at Woodstock: BAEZ. Nicely intersects BIZ (65D. Show __).
Down:
1. Choice of "Choosy moms," in ads: JIF. "Choosy moms choose Jif"
3. Not agin: FER. "For". "Agin" = Against.
4. Werewolf's weapons: FANGS
7. Griffin and others: MERVS. Merv Griffin created "Jeopardy".
8. Cleaning product prefix: SANI. Got it from Across.
9. "Riders of the Purple Sage" author: ZANE GREY. Have faintly heard of the book. Full author name is always desirable.
10. "Maid of Athens, __ part": Byron: ERE WE. "Ere" = "Before". I guessed.
11. Discrimination fought by suffragists: SEXISM
12. Talks trash to: TAUNTS
13. Size up: ASSESS. Typical grid (right/bottom) edge word, with all the four Ss.
18. Polite country affirmative: YES' M
22. Not o'er: NEATH. Poetically.
23. Modern rental car feature, briefly: GPS
24. Hold back: REIN
25. Scopes Trial gp.: ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). Was unaware of the Scopes Trial.
26. Turkish mount: ARARAT. The landing mount of Noah's Ark.
30. Christie heroine: MARPLE. Miss Marple.
33. Plata counterpart: ORO. Spanish for "gold". Plata = "silver". "Oro y Plata" (gold and silver) is Montana's motto.
17A. Longing for a fronded plant?: FERN YEARN. Frond is the leaf of the fern.
21A. Zinfandel, but not sake?: VINE WINE. Sake is Japanese rice wine.
23A. Oxygen emanating from a lawn?: GRASS GAS. The answer made me laugh.
55A. Steep, e.g.?: HERB VERB. You steep the "herbal tea", hence a verb for herb I presume.
57A. Like areas above the timberline?: TREE FREE. Trees do not grow above the timberline.
61A. Group devoted to small, woody plants?: SHRUB CLUB. What's the difference between shrub and bush?
Heavy themage. Total 63 theme squares. Very Dan Naddor-ish, isn't it? Esp with the first and last pair of stacked theme answers.
I got the unifying entry NURSERY RHYMES rather quickly, but did not understand the theme until I was completely done. Had thought the theme answers were all arbitrary. Then the precious AHA (6D: Cry of realization) hit me. Very clever tie-in. Loved Dan's subtle metapuzzle gimmick. Or "You've got to dig deep to find the theme...", in his own words.
The clues are a bit trickier than our normal Wednesday, no?
Across:
1. Bridges of "The Big Lebowski": JEFF. He's "The Dude" in the movie. A bowler.
5. River projects: DAMS. I like how it crosses DREDGE (5D. Channel maintenance machine).
9. Ritz cracker alternative: ZESTA. The Keebler brand. Two Zs in the grid. And only Q away from a pangram.
14. Swedish furniture giant: IKEA. So easy to get lost inside IKEA store.
15. Ostrich cousin: RHEA
19. Connection: NEXUS
20. H.S. dropout's test: GED (General Equivalency Diploma)
27. Spews: EGESTS. Thought of ERUPTS.
28. Bench press target, briefly: PEC
29. Côte d'Azur view: MER. French for "sea". Nice is at Côte d'Azur (the French Riviera). We also have "water" EAU (52A. __ Claire, Wisconsin).
30. Scratch or dent: MAR
31. Ed.'s pile: MSS (Manuscripts). Used to stump me.
32. Rural skyline cylinder: SILO. For forage.
34. Rock collection specimens: AGATES. Raw agates do not look pretty at all.
42. Cloverleaf element: ON-RAMP. Highway interchange "Cloverleaf".
43. Follower of once?: UPON. "Once upon a time ...".
45. Some TVs: GES
48. Scrap for Spot: ORT. Spot is a common dog name. Alliteration.
49. Anaheim team, on scoreboards: LAA. Silly name: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
53. Pair of blows: ONE-TWO. No idea. Boxing term?
59. Govt. auditing gp.: GAO (General Accounting Office)
60. Fruit soda brand: FANTA. No Coca-Cola brand in our house. Loyal Pepsi consumers.
66. "I Kissed __": Katy Perry hit: A GIRL. Not familiar with the song or the singer.
67. Diggs of "Private Practice": TAYE. Loved him in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back".
68. Golfer Isao: AOKI. Just remember the AO combination in both his give name and surname.
69. Kidney-related: RENAL
71. Joan at Woodstock: BAEZ. Nicely intersects BIZ (65D. Show __).
Down:
1. Choice of "Choosy moms," in ads: JIF. "Choosy moms choose Jif"
3. Not agin: FER. "For". "Agin" = Against.
4. Werewolf's weapons: FANGS
7. Griffin and others: MERVS. Merv Griffin created "Jeopardy".
8. Cleaning product prefix: SANI. Got it from Across.
9. "Riders of the Purple Sage" author: ZANE GREY. Have faintly heard of the book. Full author name is always desirable.
10. "Maid of Athens, __ part": Byron: ERE WE. "Ere" = "Before". I guessed.
11. Discrimination fought by suffragists: SEXISM
12. Talks trash to: TAUNTS
13. Size up: ASSESS. Typical grid (right/bottom) edge word, with all the four Ss.
18. Polite country affirmative: YES' M
22. Not o'er: NEATH. Poetically.
23. Modern rental car feature, briefly: GPS
24. Hold back: REIN
25. Scopes Trial gp.: ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). Was unaware of the Scopes Trial.
26. Turkish mount: ARARAT. The landing mount of Noah's Ark.
30. Christie heroine: MARPLE. Miss Marple.
33. Plata counterpart: ORO. Spanish for "gold". Plata = "silver". "Oro y Plata" (gold and silver) is Montana's motto.
35. Place where sweaters get fit?: GYM. "Sweat-ers" = Ones who sweat. Hot clue!
36. The Mustangs of coll. football: SMU (Southern Methodist University). The answer emerged itself.
38. Winter wonderland creator: SNOW FALL. Lovely Heidi Klum "Wonderland".
39. Shortstop's boot: ERROR. "Boot" is misplay of the ground ball.
40. Foil alternative: EPEE. Was picturing the wrap "foil", not "fencing weapon".
41. Fly high: SOAR
44. Worn-down pencil: NUB
45. Was successful: GOT FAR. And SEEN IN (47D. Shown to a seat). Tricky little multi-words, esp with the tense.
46. Bring to a boil?: ENRAGE. With the question mark, I still thought of liquid boil. Dummy!
50. Pleads in court: ARGUES
51. Simple poetry pattern: ABAB
54. Aquarium denizen: TETRA. Maybe Dennis has this species in his fish tank.
55. "__ it coming": "Serves him right": HE HAD. Again, obtained the answer with Across help.
56. Eng. lesson: VOCAB (Vocabulary).
58. "¿Cómo ____ usted?": ESTA. How do you reply then?
62. Bakery product: RYE
63. Mauna __: LOA. Hawaiian for "long".
64. Strummed strings: UKE. The Hawaiian strings. Nice parallel with LOA.
Here is a picture of our Jazzbumpa in full orchestra uniform. It's taken in Dec 2009 before their Sebelius concert.
Note to newcomers: I have a permanent Blog Photos link on the blog sidebar. If you want to join us there, do email me (crosswordc@gmail.com) your picture.
Answer grid.
C.C.
80 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - I enjoyed today's puzzle; thought it had a clever theme and enough misleading clues to keep it interesting. My one screw-up was the same as C.C. had, putting 'erupts' for 27A. Perps got me 'Taye' Diggs. Favorite clue was 'Place where sweaters get fit.' Some good DF stuff in this one, but I'll leave them to the professionals here.
C.C., I have a salt water tank, so tetras wouldn't do too well in it. Also, you're right, a one-two combination is a boxing term. It's usually a left lead, or jab, followed by a right cross, but way back when I learned to box, the term applied to virtually any two-punch combination.
Today is both Punch the Clock Day and Chocolate Cake Day. I know which one I'm celebrating.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "Love will draw an elephant through a keyhole." -- Samuel Richardson
And a little humor for hump day:
- "Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing." -- Redd Foxx
- "The other day I went into a feminist bookstore. How did I know? It didn't have a humor section." -- Bob Hope
- My wife will buy anthing marked down. Yesterday, she tried to buy an escalator." -- Joey Bishop
Good morning,
A real change of pace with lots of short but tricky clues, and many echoes throughout the puzzle like JEFF and JIF, BIZ and BAEZ, MER and MAR and the nice LOA and UKE pair to finish. Amazing we have a mini-tribute to our new Hawaiian contingent. I too enjoyed Place where sweaters get fit?: GYM. Enjoy all.
About average difficulty for a Wednesday. No help or errors. 16 minutes.
Good Morning CC and All,
I couldn't get in the swing with this one even though I got the theme. Erupts was an original problem then I wrote Sprays. Everything went south from there ending my effort trying three times to spell Baez correctly. G-spot, red letter stubbling led to a rather blah ending. No fault to the constructor, my brain isn't working this morning.
CC, I scanned the posts after my meeting last night. 93 posts is a pretty high number in my recollection. What's the record?
WH, I hope you get a nap in at some point during the day. How's the goat?
Have a good one!
Good morning! Today's puzzle was fun and tricky. I enjoyed Zane Grey, Marple and Arafat (I was thinking about a horse for 'mount').
If a Spanish speaker asks, 'como esta usted?', i think the answer would be 'bueno, gracias' (how are you; fine thanks). My HS Spanish is very rusty.
I like plata - oro. Gold/Silver. Didn't know that.
Fave clue for me today is zinfandel not sake = vine wine. Sweet!
I didn't understand the theme today until I read CC's explanation.
And Dennis: health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing. Made me LOL.
What is "DF"?
Enjoy the day!
Gracie
Good Morning, CC. I loved this puzzle. It provided me with a good mental workout this morning, but not enough to stump me. Once I figured out NURSERY RHYMES, I knew to look for rhyming words.
MERV Griffin was not a name that came immediately to my mind. In fact, I initially had MERF, thinking that Zinfandel was actually a FINE WINE.
Just FYI, a GED is not only an exam for high school drop-outs. Parents who home school there children also take the GED exam.
My favorite clues today were (1) Winter Wonderland Creator: SNOWFALL; and (2) Turkish Mount ARARAT. I was sure that this pertained to a horse.
QOD: Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose al common sense. ~ Gertrude Stein.
This was a really good tight theme today. I caught on with SHRUB CLUB right away so that helped with the solving, and really liked when NURSERY RHYMES filled in. Got pretty stuck in the NE corner though and couldn't complete that without some help.
Maniac I was thinking FINE WINE also. Oops. I think we have had posts over 100 some days, but it is usually when a group gets going and banters back and forth about something.
My favorite clue was Where sweaters get fit also.
It's Wednesday. Off to scrapbook!!! Yea, I got all kinds of senior pictures now so I am starting my son's senior year.
Good x word except for the infernal ERUPTS. I wanted it so badly that I tried all manner of other words around it to \force it to fit. AHA, that didn't work. Finally got my brain around to the SEXISM and NEXUS answers and it fell.
Didn't understand HERBVERB, for a while then came to the same realization that STEEP (a verb) is what you can do to an HERB. Or any one you would like to ENRAGE.
Wanted CAMEL for TURKISH MOUNT, but could not make it fit. So I put in ARARAT even though it would be really hard to MOUNT!
Gotta go do stuff,
CY'all Later
Good morning, all,
This was a fun puzzle this morning. I got on to the theme right away with fernyearn. I, too, had a little trouble in the NE corner, and remembered egests from an earlier puzzle, which let me avoid the erupts trap. For some reason, taunts did not come easily.
I liked the pec-mer-mar-mss line of three letter words and wondered if this was intentional by the constructor.
The difficulty was about right for a Wednesday. My time was 26.
Have a good day.
Morning all,
Really enjoyed the puzzle today--fun and doable. I, too, thought it had a Naddor quality. Saw my first rhea at the Turtleback Zoo in NJ last summer. Ort was a common answer in our former puzzles. Taye Diggs is so easy to look at especially with no shirt. As much as I read, I have never read anything by Zane Grey. Jazz, you look very handsome in your concert tux.
Funny that today is chocolate cake day because I am baking one this morning for our neighbor who is returning today from a 7 month stint in Afghanistan. It is one of his food requests that also included a good pizza and a Five Guy’s hamburger; oh, and yes a nice, cold beer. Good day in the neighborhood. Hope you all have a good day in your neighborhood.
Hello, everyone. A little harder today but no errors or lookups. The theme words were fun and easy ; so set the foundation for the rest of the solve. Perps gave up any unknowns. FER went over my head. Got EREWE but did not see 'ere we' at first.
Did not like GES or MSS, but perps were fair enough.
Some Spanish today - ORO, ESTA
Hasta la vista
RHEAS have three toes.
Good morning C.C., and all,
I got the theme rhyme pairs easily enough, but didn't get the plant theme until coming here. Biggest hang-up was in the NE. Finally went to my friend G to get ZANEGREY and overcame the corner. Never heard of ZESTA. Had "HiHos", which were made by Sunshine Biscuit Company and were very similar to Ritz. Only other difficulty was in SE. For 65D the newspaper omitted the little line after the word "Show", so I was reluctant to fill in BIZ right away.
C.C.-A formal response to 58D would be "Muy bien, gracias, y usted?" (Very well, thank you, and you?)
Enjoy the day!
Despite getting the theme early, no traction for me here. I g'ed ZANE GREY, LAA, TAYE and GAO, but instead of GAO, I found GAP, so that screwed things up down there, and I never did get VOCAB until I was here. How's that for a language teacher? Couldn't see what VP CAB had to do with English lessons!
Just one of those days, I guess.
IMBO
Good morning everyone.
Jazz, very handsome in your tux. Fun to see.
Thanks,C.C. for linking it.
I, too, didn't get the nursery clue for the first words, and therefore never did figure out shrub club. And
I misspelled Baez. So my whole SE corner was a mess.
Cheers
Good Morning All, After I figured out that "Agin" was "Against" and not "Again", I thought I was on a roll. But, the NE was my problem this morning. Fortunately, I knew ZANE GREY immediately. I've never seen them in our grocery stores, so I had to "Guess-ta at ZESTA"...stop that groaning right now!
Perps to the rescue "agin".
Lots of theme entries made it pretty easy to figure out the rhymes. I had a nice "Aha" moment when the clue for 37A "In a different sense", gave me NURSERY, as in plants.
Sadly, I have an appointment this morning, so I will not be able to explain the difference between a shrub and a bush. Dennis, care to take up the explanation?
Gracie, DF is an abbreviation for "DysFunctional", or a name for some of the usually later evening comments and commentors (DF's and DFettes). (See my previous note to Dennis :o)
Chocolate cake, definitely..."I don't need no steenkin' time clocks!"...life is good!
Sadly, I have an appointment this morning, so I will not be able to explain the difference between a shrub and a bush. Dennis, care to take up the explanation?
Clear Ayes, that's called a 'hanging curve'.
Sallie, both are low growths that are, for the most part, pleasant to observe. Constant pruning only enhances them. As to the difference, further comment would make me disappear...
Jeanne, it is beyond wonderful that your neighbor is returning home to what I am sure will be a fabulous chocolate cake. Welcome home!
ClearAyes, thank you for the DF-inition! I will have to check back later to chuckle at dys-functional posts.
Gracie
@CC, No difference. Bush and shrub are the same thing. except shrub rhymes with Club.
Hi C.C. & gang, it was a total wipe out for me today, my wife had to leave early for work and we only had ~25% done. I went online and quickly discovered the theme with 'fernyearn' but it still took me awhile to parse out 'egests' and 'zesta'
Here's Joan Baez at Woodstock 1969 (the same year my mother died of cancer).
Hi gang.
Thanx ladies. I clean up OK, I guess.
Dennis - a hanging curve and you decided to bunt! Well played, sir.
Great puzzle today. I had lost of trouble in NE ans SW corners.
Where sweaters get fit was my favorite clue - not that I ever go there.
Much to do today. Retirement sure is a busy time.
Cheers!
JzB the clean trombonist
Very inspired reinterpretation of NURSERY RHYMES.
I thought this was a fun puzzle today. I only had to hit the g-spot for Zane Grey. Perp help included rhea, and abab. One note, did anyone else notice how many 3 letter answers there were today? I counted 20. A different three letter word popped into my head for the clue “place where sweaters get fit.” It rhymes with fit coincidentally.
W @ 10:33,
Let me guess:
You live with your Mother, in the basement, play a lot of video games, and don't go out much?
Back again with enough time to say "greetings to all" this time.
For a non-DF comment on bush/shrub, I've always thought shrub sounded more manicured than bush, hence it has a closer relationship to the nursery of this puzzle.
In Oz if you're in the bush, it just means out in the sticks, etc. To be bushed means getting lost, either figuratively or physically, unable to tell which direction to go because of all the "bush", I guess. Go far enough into the bush and you are in the scrub/spinifex, beyond the black stump, where the crows fly backwards.
I concur, Jazz looks pretty good in his tux.
Good Morning CC and all. Good puzzle and theme. Lots of DF potential. I'll wait for awhile on that. Have a great day all. It looks like rain in AZ!!
Good morning CC and all,
Definitely a challenge for me today; such clever clues! I guessed my way thru the NE corner with wine being the only real word I knew was right.Zesta? nexus?MSS?
Didn't like "got far" or "seen in" in SW corner, but I loved the puzzle overall.
There must be many different kinds of tetras. I believe the one pictured was a neon tetra.
Nursery rhymes came right away and helped solve the others, but I had been thinking "Bo Peep" type answers after filling in "upon".
shrub club..ha! ha! Too funny!
JazzB...a very handsome picture. CC, it was fun going thru those pictures again. Some newbies might mistake the one Carol for the other Carol.
Any day with a piece of chocolate cake would be a good day!
Jazzbumpa, that looks like a fine instrument you have there; I remind all the new people, all the quiet people, all the lurkers- send C.C. pictures and become part of our wall of fame on Blog Photos. It really helps those of us who are sight challenged to keep up.
Joan Baez at Woodstock is one of the most wonderful performances for which I have ever had the pleasure of being present. Warren, I am sorry you have bad associaitons with 1969, but it was fine year for me.
So now it is time for more hat pictures, right?
Hey all! A good puzzle. Enjoyed it thoroughly, and had several major AHA moments, like the GYM answer and ERROR (and I always get the baseball answers right!!) Maybe they weren't aha moments, they were more like duh moments. But loved starting the puzzle with Jeff Bridges, who was brilliant in The Big Lebowski. So many great actors, so many great comedic scenes. I could go on but i won't...
But yes, a real nice one today. Jazz, great pic. It is fun to see who you guys are! I have to send in a pic too, as soon as my glamour shots come in the mail. KQ, I love that you scrap. Do you ever share your stuff via the WWW? Would love to see it!
Also I vote that every day be Chocolate Cake Day. All those in favor...
Ipo,
"Sweetheart"?
Windhover,
Mostly around 4:30am. Very kind of you to take care of your neighbor.
Mainiac & KQ,
Many plus 100 Comments days in the summer of 2008. But one 230+ July day led me to impose comment limit.
Guday, all. Good puzzle today with a fun theme. Didn't care for 45d Was Successful, "Got Far" and 47d Shown To A Seat, "Seen In"; a bit obscure, but perfectly legit.
Dennis ya devil ya. I prefer to play in the bushes rather than the shrubs.
My new response to "Como esta usted" is "Asi,asi", but it used to be "Dos mas cervezas, por favor"!!
Kazie, Here in the US, back in the old days, "bushed" meant "tired". "I'm bushed" = "I'm exhausted".
I just finished the Zane Grey book "Riders Of The Purple Sage" in it's originally written form. When it was first published it ran in a magazine ("Colliers" I think - not unlike Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novellets in the "Strand") and was edited to all "get out". Even the movie was not Grey's original manuscript. Grey (who's from Zanesville, Ohio - in case any one's keeping score) was not happy with what the magazine did to his book but even the publishers would not publish it the way he wrote it. If you want the REAL story, be sure to check that you are getting the "Original Manuscript" released by one of Grey's family members. If you are a Mormon, you may want to avoid it. His treatment of Mormon's is why the book ran into it's original problems.
Well, off to my daily treat here at GBRV. Iced tea and orange Metamucil. YUMMY!!! (Not allowed chocolate cake; Ratchet ways it will make my face break out).
I must be off
Gracie & MJ,
Thanks for the Spanish lessons. Looks like we were the only three who had difficulty grokking the theme today.
W,
Hmm, Bush!
Kazie & Clear Ayes,
Have you ever seen "The Lover"? The girl wears fedora hat the whole movie.
Spitzboov,
Love the way you used "Sturm und Drang" the other day. Very cool. Just like Bravo Zulu.
I haven't seen it, but maybe it would improve my Df quotient, going by the trailer!
Thanx, Ipo, for clearing up DF for me. I'm guessing Gspot is Google; somebody let me know. I never go there until I've finished the puzzle or can't get any further.
I'm afraid I'm a DF. Just need to get up earlier. Since we are all in different time zones, how are the comments recorded? CST? CC, that would be yours.
Jazz, I'd say you clean up real good.
I was lucky about EGEST; I entered ZANE GREY on a hunch and got the G.
I got the rhymes early, with fern yearn, but couldn't understand the
theme till I read the blog. Thanx.
Will send a picture when i can find one. I mostly tear them up.
Love reading your comments. I'm a grammar/punctuation nut so mind your apostrophes or I'll be sending you EATS, SHOOTS, AND LEAVES. Or am I being too pushy for a newbie?
Hello All--A little more difficult than I first thought. The clues were very clever, and I did find all the rhyming words. However, I didn't get the theme until I read C.C.'s account.
I also put erupts for spews, but Zane Grey wouldn't fit, so had to think of another word. I also have never heard of Zesta. Are they a real crackers?
My favorite clue today was rural skyline cylinder. Such a mental picture I had of Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin! Two words for sea, Mar and Mer, side by side was also fun to see.
Jazzbumpa, such a handsome Trombonist.
Bill, your entry today gave me a chuckle.
AimeeAya--Aye!
Why is there a trash can after my comment? Am I too late or did I misspeak?
No Dodo, If you don't like your comment, or in my case, it goes in two times, the trash can gives you the option to delete it. You are the only one who sees that icon after your entry.
AimeeAya, I haven't posted any scrapbook pages on the www, but I suppose I could. I go every Wednesday. My friend is a Creative Memories Consultant, and she hosts a group each week. There can be as many as 7 or 8 of us there at a time, and we just have so much fun. My DH thinks all we do is drink wine, but I wouldn't have any scrapbooks done then would I? Do you have a Cricut machine? One of the ladies has one and a Gypsy and it has totally transformed our scrapbooking. It is funny to go back 5 years ago and look at what you did. Your pages transform with the industry. I loved your pages on your blog. Keep at it.
dodo -
One thing we doesn't do hear is play speling/grammer polise. 'Some weeks I u'se up my apo'strophe quota, and have to borrow 'someone el'se"s.
Occasionally, I'll have problems with the coma, but not the colon.
On another note, I might now consider regular bathing.
Cheers!
JzB the (semi) clean trombonist
Hello C.C. and all,
@Gracie, it well may be dumb something or other, you know?
I also wanted a horse for mount, I'd penciled in Arabian. It was frustrating until the perps. came to my rescue.
DoDo Darling,
There is no such thing as "too
pushy" unless you sign in as Anonymous.
But I must caution you about the apostrophe thing. People here are very sensitive about criticism of their use and misuse of apostrophes. The three things not discussed here are religion, politics, and apostrophes. The first two may on occasion be violated without serious consequences, but apostrophe criticism will get you hauled in front of a military tribunal. At the very least you will get a late night, threatening visit from large and menacing thugs, or depending on where you are located, by large and angry, menopausal lesbians. Although I share your disgust at the misuse and misplacement of the apostrophe, I urge to to not go there.
Otherwise, welcome aboard. I notice you said "late husband". It has been very cold and dark here in Kentucky lately. Is it warm and sunny in your part of California? If the sun doesn't shine here soon, I
may be looking to relocate. I am quite handy, and since I graduated from high school when all English teachers were female and most were single, my grammar and punctuation are nearly perfect. Oh, and I farm, so I'm broke. Not housebroke, just have no money. But as you say, it's only money.
Seriously, glad to have you.
Aloha All...I was going to make you all jealous yesterday by reporting that I did the puzzle at the beach while occasionally looking up to watch wild dolphins swimming (Ok, and to occasionally check out my fellow beach-goers..), but figured that'd be rude for a newbie. Today's puzzle was fun, tho I've never heard of Zestas or egests, but other than that, I was pretty much OK with today's clues.
Mauna Loa is more than the Hawaiian word for "long", it's also the name of the largest volcano on earth (in terms of size and area) and a beautiful part of our landscape here - sometimes also gets snow on top, which is a big deal here. Mauna Loa is also the brand name of Macadamia nuts grown about 2 miles from my house - yummy, especially coated with dark chocolate!
And a special shout out to Jeanne for her mention of the Turtleback Zoo - I grew up not far from there in NJ, but haven't thought of that place in decades! Thanks for making some dormant synapses fire!
Yes, for all you oldsters (like me) who have trouble with your commas and colons, do not forget to go and get your colonoscopy.
Aloha
We tend not to throw stones at each other here ~ Nerf balls, maybe, but not stones. With the exception of a few Anons, we are a pretty well educated group. (Why else would we be doing crosswords?) Some of us are even fluent in several languages. English is not even a first language from some in this group. Often a typo or a misplaced punctuation mark is simply the result one's excitement in making a posting. We have all been that panda who walks into a bar and eats, shoots, and leaves.
..or my favorite: "What is this thing called, love?"
It looks like some fun was had while I was gone.
Dodo, I love your Profile movies. Alec Guiness and Peter Sellers were the best. As others have said, it is best to assume that most spelling and punctuation errors are typos. That is probably closest to the truth anyway.
WH..."depending on where you are located, large and angry, menopausal lesbians" LOL, not that there is anything wrong with that, but you do realize that I am probably Dodo's closest geographic neighbor, don't you?
C.C. I have seen "The Lover". It was very erotic. I really like the male star, John Lone. His role in "M. Butterfly" was totally different.
Nice happy avatar, KeeauRich. But then, what's not to like in Hawaii?
Oh NO, NO, DODO! You may want to skip my posts as there has never been an exclamation point I didn't like. I am a bad speller, worse than Jazz! (BTW Jazz, very nice tux picture) I blame all of it on my former english teachers, all of which were males and I spent the better part of my time flirting with them to get a "better" grade! Everyone just kind of puts up with me! ! ! ! That being said, I'm glad you are HERE!
OMG CC, holy hotwicks (to quote Lois) what a lovely movie..... How did I miss that one? I needed to rub an ice cube on my face and neck, just watching the trailer!!
Ipo=sweeheart in hawaiian, no? KeeauRich, I'm gonna call you Keanu. Welcome and a nice bird you have there!
Did I see a poll being taken? I prefer my bushes well manicured......Have a glorious evening, I"m on the internet hunt to find THAT MOVIE :)
Well, after exhaustive research (is there any other kind),
I have discovered that:
A shrub is where the birdie sings, and
a bush is where the kitty hides.
ClearAyes:
So could you
put in a good word for me?
I'm gonna call you Keanu. Welcome and a nice bird you have there!
Certainly the first time we've had that line used here...
Kissing Jessica Stein Trailer
Kissing Jessica Stein
Jill Sobule "I kissed a girl"
I kissed a girl
But I prefer Katy Perry's version better!
SO- boys: WH, Jazz, Dennis,'Keanu',
Is a bird in the hand really better than 2 in the bush? Just asking.
Jazz, you do clean up well!!
Dodo, I think you'd be well served to listen to WH on apostrophes - I think I take the championship on their mis-use, but I don't care.
There was a typo already ...KeaauRich, not KeeauRich. Not to worry, you'll probably eventually wind up being abbreviated as KR. (Nice "bird" catch, Robin.)
KQ, I certainly hope there is, at least, a little wine drinking going on at your scrap meetings. Gotta get those creative juices flowing.
Buckeye, brother, great minds and ...oh, never mind. Right now GAH is reading "Arizona Ames", one of Grey's later books. We've been missing you around here.
Frenchie, I have to ask. Is your little Chihuahua dressed as a bride, or as a medieval damsel? Either way, she doesn't look too thrilled. :o)
MAUNA LOA . I did enjoy LOA and UKE today. Though, I struggled with EGEST and SEEN IN and a few others. My husband is a prolific reader, so Zane Grey was one of my first fills.
C.C.--yes, ipo is sweetheart!
Dennis
Maam?
are you having a nice evening, Dennis?
Splendid. And you?
(Why do I feel like I'm being set up for something?)
IPO, Thanks for the link to Mauna Loa, which also included info on Mauna Kea from last week.
What's with all the Hawaiian invasion? I have been told that UKE is pronounced OOK, not YUKE the way Arthur Godfrey would say it wheb I was a kid; is this true my Lei specialists?
Robin, you okay girl?
For all the Latin scholars,(as opposed to all out latin Scholars, do we have many hispanics out there?) EGEST is easier if your realize it is just the opposite of INGEST. In Latin "E" = from "IN" = to.
Okay, Boring....
Yes, Dennis, I am sure you are on the path to perdition, but why fight it.
Jazz, better be careful. Could be it's your colon that's causing your coma! Although you don't really sound very comatose.
Clearayes, I wondered if you were far from me. I have a friend who came here from Mountain Ranch.
I just need a "little" help...
@ Robin--Keanu/Keaau it's all good. Keeau is located on the Big Island, near Hilo.
And just what does this 'little help' involve?
By reading profiles I know many of you are teachers or have taught; while we wait for Robin to spring her trap on Dennis, (little is such a bad word for boys to hear) I thought of a couple of reason why teaching young children can be so fun.
One:
A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.
The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small.
The little girl stated she knew Jonah was swallowed by a whale.
Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.
The little girl said, 'When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah'.
The teacher asked, 'What if Jonah went to hell?'
The little girl replied, 'Then you ask him'.
Two:
A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's work.
As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.
The girl replied, 'I'm drawing G-d.'
The teacher paused and said, 'But no one knows what God looks like.'
Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, 'They will in a minute.'
Lemonade, Mummy used to tell me about Arthur Godfrey.
Hahtool, it's obvious that all of you are educated and very articulate. One reason I enjoy your comments and decided to join in. I hope I'll do you credit.
ah, wouldn't you know I am at 5 and you know the rules......I guess this will just have to wait ;(
Lemonade I am as fine as fish hairs! later........
Lol, I think Robin just realized she's maxxed out on posts.
yes and were at 69! check it out!
My last comment was wiped out. What did I do?
Dodo, nothing we did. Did you get an error message?
Good evening CC, et al., Cute puzzle but struggled a bit here and there. Had to 'laa'ugh when I got to Shrub Club! HELLOOOO!!! Thought first it might be referring to former Pres Bush and his boys, but quickly decided that it is DeFinately a man's organization - kind of like the Mile High Club that 'one two'or three of our esteemed members here belong to. Then comes 'tree free' and think this is the gal's club with just the special hard limbs of great sizes. But 'aha'! What comes up? 'He had' and 'nub'! I'm throwing down a yellow flag and calling foul. What's 'a girl' to do?
Lemonade: cute jokes. LOL
WH: LMAO at your DeFinition of shrub and bush! However, I would think that the birdie would sing more in the bush than in the shrub, unless he caught that dreaded 'Canarial Disease' that is untweetable.
Enjoy your night.
To my California friends. We will be in the SF area in early March for a conference. We are thinking of taking a couple of days afterwards to go to San Simeon. It's quite a long drive from SF and we will only have a day or two. Is it San Simeon worth visiting, considering the long drive?
Lemonade: Nice photo of you and your son. Which son?
DoDo and KeaauRich, Welcome. We look forward to your part in the conversation.
Hahtool asked: "Is it San Simeon worth visiting, considering the long drive?"
It is worth visiting but if you can spare a little more time, the whole area in between is worthwhile. Big Sur is not to be missed. If you drove from San Francisco to San Simeon along the coast, you could easily spend several days enjoying a wonderful drive with stops along the way. I think the drive from SF to SS is more interesting that just SS itself. It's just a rich guy's home. But that whole coastal area is well worth the time.
~ Bill G.
Today's puzzle was outmatched and outclassed by C.C.'s write-up and the still-simmering comments section.
Likable, clever theme, but there was no TRENCH GOAT for me today in the guffaw department. Fave fill/clue combo award statue goes to GYM, ENRAGE and YES'M. The tidybowl match prize gets handed to HERB VERB, MERVS and SANI. Last, the unknown suspicious food certificate was won by ZESTA and seconded to EGEST.
An ad for a local salon/spa offers a service called discreet "Manscaping" which takes us back to the shrub/bush discussion in a very un-PC and entirely un-PJB way. Do not google the word.
I've read zero ZANE GREY. Did see the movie "the Lover" and read the book.. See, I really DON'T lead a sheltered life!
Joan BAEZ's song "Diamonds and Rust" still brings out my sentimental side. "A couple of light years ago, and miles away..."
If I can stay awake long enough I'll link it later from YouTube.
Hahtool-San Simeon is a small town near where William Randolph Hearst built an opulent estate. We have enjoyed visiting his "Hearst Castle", as it is called. It is interesting to visit, but is very "touristy". As Bill G. pointed out, a drive down Pacific Coast Highway from SanFrancisco, and perhaps finding a quaint inn somewhere along the way to stay might be more enjoyable.
Wow, someone other than me hit the mailstone. I can't begin to comment as I am totally "whipped". This is an oddity for Jeannie. No time for the best chocolate cake ever recipe either. Old timer's miss me? Newbies, didn't want to leave you hanging.
Sorry, my browser is crawling at a drunken snail's pace and YouTube ain't "buffering" fast enough to figure out which of Joan Baez's "Diamonds and Rust" vids are worth a look. Will try again another day!
That also means I cannot watch the SOTU address by the POTUS [Obama] or watch the commentary. Uh oh, I just spoke of politics. Maybe I should invest in a radio or a TV!? OK, Maybe not, at least until the Winter Olympics.
In my next lifetime/incarnation, I want to either play ice hockey or captain a Luge team. And construct a puzzle or two. But, not in the same week!
Hahtool, Bill G. has excellent advice. The trip down Pacific Coast Hwy from San Francisco to San Simeon is beautiful. Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur are all worth the drive. Hearst Castle may be a rich guy's place, but it is THE rich guy's place, and a great finish to the tour. You can drive quite easily from SF to San Simeon in one day, so if you take two (or hopefully three) days you will have some extra time to really get a look at the truly breathtaking scenery.
Jeannie, looking forward to that chocolate cake recipe.
Dodo, "Lemonade, Mummy used to tell me about Arthur Godfrey."...very funny.
Reposting to correct a spelling error :)
Lemonade...yup, it's ook-alele, not yuke-alele. Once you master that, you can start working on more challenging Hawaiian words, like "humuhumunukunukuapua'a" (the state fish). Our biggest struggle when we moved here was adapting to the street names, most of which are Hawaiian language words and names ("Kanoelehua Avenue", "Waianuenue Ave" etc.). By the time the navigator (my partner) pronounced a street name, I'd already passed the turn a half a mile back! Ironically, my talking Garmin does a pretty good job at pronunciation - I guess because it doesn't look at the word and freak out - it just gets down to business. Probably a lesson for us all in that somewhere...
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